On 31 July, the Supreme Court had ordered the Telangana Speaker to resolve the disqualification petitions within three months.
Published Nov 17, 2025 | 1:33 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 17, 2025 | 2:46 PM
Supreme Court
Synopsis: The Supreme Court issued contempt warning to Telangana Speaker G Prasad Kumar, ordering him to decide disqualification of 10 BRS MLAs who defected to Congress by next week or face jail. CJI Gavai said that the Speaker must choose “where he has to celebrate his new year”. The deadline stems from a July order. Meanwhile, the Speaker’s extension plea has been rejected.
The Supreme Court has issued a contempt notice to Telangana Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar, taking exception to his failure in acting on disqualification petitions against 10 Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLAs who defected to the Congress.
The court’s strong reprimand marks a major development in a long-running political and constitutional controversy.
On 31 July 2025, a bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai directed Speaker Kumar to resolve the disqualification pleas under India’s anti-defection law (Tenth Schedule) within three months.
The apex court gave a clear warning: “failure to issue any direction … would frustrate the very purpose for which the Tenth Schedule has been brought in the Constitution.” But the Speaker did not meet the deadline of 31 October, prompting the BRS to file a contempt petition.
At Monday’s hearing, the bench expressed frustration at the inaction, calling it “the grossest kind of contempt.”
Yet, the SC stopped short of summoning the Speaker personally — for now. The next hearing is scheduled in four weeks.
“Either it has to be decided by next week or face contempt. We have already held he (Speaker) doesn’t enjoy constitutional immunity. It is up to him to decide where he wants to spend his New Year,” CJI Gavai said.
Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Abhishek Singhvi, representing the Speaker, assured the Court that the delay would end. Rohatgi said he would “personally convey the court’s strong sentiments to the Speaker” and urged that formal decisions be made in the next four weeks..
The petitions were filed following political realignments after the 2023 Telangana assembly elections, when 10 MLAs who won on BRS tickets switched allegiance to the Congress. The disqualification pleas were filed by senior BRS leaders, including KT Rama Rao, Padi Kaushik Reddy, and KP Vivekananda.
Previously, the Speaker finally initiated a trial under the Tenth Schedule — a rare move in Telangana’s history — with scheduled cross-examinations for some of the defected legislators.
BRS has hailed the contempt notice as a “vindication of constitutional propriety.” On the other side, Congress leaders have played it down, calling it a procedural hiccup.
In its July judgment, the Supreme Court had questioned whether the current mechanism — assigning the Speaker the power to decide cases of defection — still serves its constitutional purpose. The Court noted that prolonged delays by Speakers risk undermining democracy itself. As the four-week deadline imposed by the Court ticks away, all eyes are on Speaker Prasad Kumar and the Telangana Assembly.
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
